Thursday, November 20, 2014

I was spoiled while Melanie was here. Saturday night Ryan watched all the kids so Mel and I could have a girls' night and then Monday night, Melanie gave Ryan and me a date night. Unfortunately, I was too tired for the whole date and Ryan ended up going to a movie by himself. But before I went to sleep, I caught Melanie reading the boys a bedtime story.

Sam loves to write. He scheduled out the entire FHE.

The boys eating homemade doughnuts

Three Boys in a Tub. These boys had such much fun playing in bubbles and with Plants vs. Zombie toys, that they could play for easily an hour to an hour and a half each night! They loved it!

I love pictures of Melanie and Tessa together. I have dubbed Melanie Tessa's Fairy Godmother.

On Veteran's Day, we all traveled out a national rainforest up the Olympic Peninsula. Stopping at the beach for a picnic, we all practically froze. So we picnic-ed in the car. Then everyone minus me and Tessa ran out to the beach and collected seashells and watched a family eat raw clams on the shore. After collecting shells and eating lunch in the van, we explored the area. We literally stumbled upon this bridge and a hiking path. The hike was along huge cliffs that went down into a gorge and ravine. We finally got to a lookout with a fence. We loosened our grip on the kids and enjoyed the view. We got caught up in taking pictures of Tessa and looked up and Luke was missing. Ryan and I ran separate directions yelling, "LUKE!!!" Maybe 2 minutes went by but it felt like 30 as I frantically looked everywhere, even off the cliffs. Luke had decided he was ready to go back to the van when Ryan found him. After we safely got the kids to the van, we took turns walking across the bridge and looking at a waterfall and rapids. I felt suspended in the air. We decided to give the boys a treat and take them to Chuck E. Cheese. Maybe the most memorable Veteran's Day ever!

This is Ryan's photo of the bridge we crossed and the blue river beneath. It was gorgeous.
On the other side of the bridge was a gorgeous steep waterfall.

We went on a hike after church through Tolmie. What a blessing to have this state park so close. AND another blessing that Melanie brought her camera. The boys fought evil toad stools (mushrooms), got muddy, and raced ahead of us. We were able to return on Wednesday for a photo shoot with Tessa and to let the boys play in a tree with legs. Rivers adored this tree. Now every time we return, we will think of Rivers when we see his tree house.

The awesome tree house!

The pics are blurry, but Rivers is giving his tree house a hug and kiss goodbye. He loves that tree. :)

We had a wonderful day at Nisqually on Friday and all of these photos can prove it! Melanie captured all of the amazing details and lighting here. I want to frame all of these pictures! I just wish I had more pictures of her. She is always behind the camera making sure we can always remember the priceless moments together.